Since the re-opening of travel to Japan, we have been inundated with posts regarding shopping for specific items in Japan. While /r/Japantravel’s rules specifically forbid posting new threads on individual establishments or services – we have decided to create specific threads for most common questions appearing in posts that got removed, discussion threads or Discord, especially since many of the write-ups that were posted befored COVID-19 hit were no longer up to date.
Today’s topic is: **Shopping in department stores and supermarket chains.**
Feel free to talk about grocery options in popular neighbourhoods, supermarket chains, where people renting AirBnB can get their supplies or department stores with the best assortment of goods.
*(This post is part of a discussion series set up by the moderators of /r/JapanTravel. Please stay civil, abide by the rules, keep it PG-13 rated, and focus on the actual topic when responding to this thread. Please note that general discussions/vague questions are not usually allowed per /r/JapanTravel’s rules, and threads in the similar style will be removed.*
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3 comments
When I lived there for a couple of months I found it pretty difficult to shop in grocery stores honestly. Being effectively illiterate makes buying anything in packaging risky. Fruits, vegetables, and meat we’re fairly easy though. Most grocery stores have a fresh bento section that has more choice then any conbini
One thing I found interesting is that practically every mall in Japan has at least one full-sized grocery store. Coming from someone who lives in the US, this is super-uncommon.
The Ito-Yokado at Lalaport Shinmisato had the best bento I came across on my trip. I definitely recommend checking out the bento section in any grocery store.
Also, Japan has Costco, and you can enter with your membership card even if you got it from your home country.
International Food Supermarkets if you’re craving hard to find wester items
– Nissin World Deli
– National Azabu
Cheap brand name meat
– Anzu Meat Factory
Higher end Japanese super markets
– Medi-ya
– Kitano Ace
Good for bulk items
– Hanamasa
– Costco
For department stores all of them have good options. IMO Ginza has a good density of department stores where you can get pretty much anything you’re looking for food wise. Here are my thoughts on some of major ones in the area.
– Matsuya – This is good for charcuterie and sweets. Lowest floor supermarket is decent and has a interesting gourmet frozen food section. I think their selection of western prepared foods is good, but their Japanese prepared foods could be better. The do have much more in the way of cheaper bento option vs other department stores in the area. They also have a good wine and spirits selection
– Mitsukoshi – Good for cheese, Japanese prepared food, sweets. Supermarket is nicer than Matsuya’s and has a better cheese selection. There is a wine/sake section on this floor but it isn’t as good as Matsuya. In the main food hall area the general selection of sweets is better IMO. Feels like they have more European stores like Fortnum and Mason and Johan.
– Ginza Six – Lower food hall area leans more towards more fashionable newer stores. There is a very good Sake store in on this floor and better than other department stores. In addition there is a Amazing Japanese Whisky store that carries extremely rare bottles, but be warned this place is crazy expensive. Most other stores on this floor are focused on sweets. There is a Eataly on one of the upper floors that offers a decent selection of Italian items, but it is no where near the scale of the store in NYC.